I think if you just figure out the time per pound needed to cook the pork loin, you could devise your own system. It seems logical to add the apples in a bit later (so they don't completely dry out). Prunes are compatible with both pork and apples and might lend something to the flavor. You could baste with a mixture of vegetable or chicken stock and unsweetened apple juice at some point during the process, maybe. Doris will have much clearer information! What kind of apples are you using? Cooking ones or eating ones like Golden Delicious?

I tend to be more experimental once I know what the basic dealbreakers are. I gave up meat this year, but when I used to do roasts, the one dealbreaker, especially with pork, was to get the correct internal temperature. When that's sorted out, you can add other ingredients with impunity. Baked goods are a different kettle of fish, pun not intended. You can't vary ingredients because of the way they all react chemically against one another. Unless you're my two Bulgarian friends. They bake the old-fashioned way, literally with a handful of flour and a pinch of baking powder, and liquid poured with a teacup. And it turns out scrumptious! I'm only that Zen with writing or sewing.

However, I've always wanted to do more cooking. With my grandmother's passing last month (she was amazing in the kitchen) I feel the need to get more domestic (it was one of her many gripes about me ). So I figured I could do one meal a week all by myself to help mom out. It's going to be fun because we're also going to watch a Disney movie each week as a countdown to our Disney trip next year (October 2013 can't get here soon enough)... The meals will be in the theme of the movie.

So for this meal we'd watch Snow White. Apples are obvious and then the pork comes from the scene from which Doris' avatar's come from. "...Snow White still lives. 'Tis the heart of a pig you hold in your hand." - Magic Mirror

Since I refuse to handle animal organs we're going to do a roast... or loin... or chop... or... something

I'm actually not a big fan of pork, but it is what it is. I'm planning to cook fish, too, at some point and I hate fish. I'll be sure to blog about my culinary adventure, though!

I'm sorry to hear about your grandmother. My condolences. Cooking more is a nice way to remember her and honor her.

And how great to make a meal thematically connected to the Disney movie! Using pork to represent the pig's heart is inspired, and much nicer than heart itself. (Eek!) Pork is a tasty meat if cooked well; it can be moist and tender, and it has a delicate flavor when it's not drenched in barbecue sauce. It goes really well with apples. The leftovers keep well, also. Do you have a meat thermometer? That can help if you have an entire large piece like a loin. I think they still say that pork can't be served rare, though I think it's safer now. Check online. If you do chops, it's best to braise them or otherwise cook them in a liquid until they're tender, because if you grill them, they can be dry.

As for fish, though I still eat it, I'm bad about cooking it myself. It always smells so...well, fishy. The one exception: salmon! And lucky you, you live in Salmon Central. You can grill it or just steam/braise it. (I prefer the latter method because it makes the fish so tender.) Salmon doesn't smell so fishy when cooking and doesn't taste really fishy. When braised, it's also yummy cold. What would you make it for...The Little Mermaid or Finding Nemo? I know it's a river fish and not a sea fish, but why get hung up on a technicality?

Ooh, for Tangled you can do angel hair pasta!

And remember...chocolate truffles aren't that hard to make! There's got to be a place for them in one movie or another. They can be the spots from the 101 Dalmatians.

The Salmon (which are both a river and sea fish... they spend most of their life out at sea) would be for "Brother Bear"... and I'd do a maple glaze on it as the story is LOOSELY based on Native Alaskan/Canadian stories... the brothers all have names that are well known here in AK (Denali, Sitka, and Kenai!) and then the moose characters (comedic relief) have Canadian accents (the stereotypical kind)...

I'm not sure eating fish for TLM or Nemo is the best idea - granted we're all adults in my family, but still it's a bit morbid. That being said in TLM they do have crab cakes, so I might try my hand at those.

The nights I don't like what I make (I'm so picky) I'll make a sandwich for myself LOL

ETA - not only am I cooking dinner I plan on doing desserts each night as well... apple pie for Snow White! heck yeah!

I guess you could have that non-fish sushi, just rice and seaweed, for the fish movies. Or just pretend that the mermaid court imports cheese in for their oceanic banquets. I guess it's the New Orleans movie about the frog prince where you can really break out the culinary heavy hitters. Remind us to look at your blog when you get going. Yum!

The easiest tasty thing to do with pork is make pulled pork, which I know you make already! However, if you're expanding your recipe box, I'll be happy to contribute.

Olympia is absolutely right that the key to all things pork (and meat in general, I would say), is not cooking at too high a temperature and using a meat thermometer. I love the ones with a digital readout that read really quickly, and have all the temperatures for different meats on the handle.

As to fish, if it smells fishy, it is not really fresh. Don't buy it, cook it, or eat it. If you smell fish in a restaurant, think twice before ordering it.

So speaks a woman who has lived on both coasts! I bow gratefully to your expertise about fish, Doris. And about meat. And about cooking in general.

Digital meat thermometers sound wonderful. I think I still have the old dial-face one from our family kitchen. I bought it when I took cooking class in junior high school. (Mom was mostly a hit-or-miss cook. She had other strengths.) I was so proud of having one and knowing how to use it. I had Mom's copy of The Joy of Cooking, which had a whole separate section on how to prepare meats and other basic ingredients. The book had two attached ribbon bookmarks, so that when you followed a recipe, you could look at the basic section at the same time and not lose your place.

When I try to branch out from salmon and cook other fish, I don't really enjoy the results. I've tried tilapia and tuna. They seem dry to me, and tuna is expensive. Canned tastes fine to me, especially the dark meat tuna. And there are always sardines! I have found a brand that makes an easy-open can, with a soft foil-like top. Regular sardine cans are dangerous instruments in my unpracticed hands. I should wear work gloves when opening them.